


On Shrouded Wings

by Alley_Walk (AlleyWalk_writes)



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amputation, Cafe AU, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Multi, Platonic Romance, Supernatural Elements, Trans Allen Walker, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 04:22:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21238088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlleyWalk_writes/pseuds/Alley_Walk
Summary: After Apocryphos is finally six feet under and that idiot beansprout makes peace with the Noah, there's no reason to keep running except their own stupidity.So they go and open a Café instead.Seriously, what the fuck.But with the damned Noah taking an interest and the Café right at the Order's front doorstep, it's not long until things go to hell.Kanda's sure this is all the beansprout's fault somehow.





	On Shrouded Wings

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all! 
> 
> This is a new fic of mine, which I hope you will all enjoy! ^^
> 
> I got inspired for this from a couple different Café fics, and I know there's already one in this fandom, but I haven't read it, and judging from the tags the premise is pretty different as well. I still apologize for any similaries between the two, as well as my complete lack of knowledge about coffee. XD 
> 
> Also, there will be certain background characters that will be from other fandoms, sort of like cameos but more permanent. Don't worry if you don't know them; they'll only be featured in passing, and you can consider them like any OC in that case, as they'll have lives and backstories catered to this AU.
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy!

Thunder rumbles in the sky overhead, and lightning crackles, flashing through the windows of the Café, making some of the occupants flinch back and hiss in pain from the bright light. Even though the windows were tinted as black as they could go, Allen still strides over and pulls the curtains over the windows. Allen doesn’t miss some of the relieved looks his customers send him. He and Kanda are working the night shift, with Johnny and Link to work the day shift with a little help from Allen after he’d rested as, ironically enough, the Café is more busy at night than during the day. Though Allen supposes he shouldn’t be surprised, surveying the Café and its customers around him.

The Shrouded Wings Café has warm colored walls with high ceilings that has chandeliers hanging above. The hardwood floors have a spread of comfortable black leather chairs with black tables situated between them. On the back wall there’s a display case filled with sweets as well as a black countertop with barstools up against it. Up against the wall are bottles of various liquids, most alcoholic in some manner. Behind the wall is the kitchen, where most of the food is prepared. Dark tinted windows face the front of the shop, the ones which Allen had just drawn the curtains over.

He had never intended to have to tint the windows, but considering some of his customers, it seemed rude not to. At one table a woman with amber eyes and black hair sips at a glass of bloodwine, her cat ears twitching freely on top of her head as she reads what is probably yet another steamy romance novel. Allen smiles fondly. Blake happens to be one of his more favored customers, if only because she’s one of the few vampires that don’t try to take advantage of the relaxed atmosphere to prey on some oblivious human who walks into the Café. A rowdy pack of werewolves laugh and rough house in the corner, but Allen doesn’t break them up. The full moon is closing in, and he doesn’t mind a little property damage so long as it helps them get it out of their systems here rather than in public.

He sees two familiar figures wave him over, and after stopping behind the counter Allen walks over with a tray balanced on his arm, anticipating their usual orders. Allen smiles easily at Tyki and Wisely, though he still can’t help the small jolt of adrenaline as his mind automatically thinks  _ danger. _ Setting the tray down on their table, he smiles at the two while calming his racing heart. “Thanks,” Wisely says, eyeing him warily before scooping up a delicate spoonful of his caramel ice cream and taking a bite. 

“Hmm?” Tyki asks, mouth full and already halfway through his large piece of chocolate lava cake. He swallows, chocolate covering his mouth and dripping down his chin as he says, “yes, good food as always. I’d come here all the time if it wouldn’t make me as fat as the Earl.” With a pointed look from Wisely, Tyki seems to realize the state of his face and grabs a napkin to wipe most of it off.

Allen laughs, a knot in his stomach relaxing. “Well you are looking a bit paunchy there, Tyki.” He teases.

Tyki looks wounded. “Well if I am, boy, then it’s entirely your fault.” He smiles slyly. “So boy, how about a game of cards?”

Allen lifts his eyebrows. “Well, we’re a little busy at the moment,” when Tyki looks disappointed, he adds, “the day shift would be better. It’s less crowded so the customers should be more manageable without me.” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping during the day shift?” Wisely asks dryly.

Allen laughs and rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “I help out wherever I can. This place was my idea, after all.”

“Just be careful not to work yourself into the ground, boy,” Tyki says, punctuating his words with his chocolaty fork. “We all like having you around, but none of us want that.”

Allen smiles. “Thanks, I’ll try my best.” he says, because he appreciates the sentiment if nothing else. He spots several people waving for his attention, one a very irritated cat eared vampire with her drink empty. “Sorry, gotta run. We can talk more later.”

Tyki waves him off, and Allen gets to work.

* * *

Kanda Yuu feels dead tired as he makes his way up the stairs to their apartment. Allen trudges up the steps behind him, bleary eyed and drowsy. Morning light is just filtering in through the windows, and Kanda kicks off his shoes at the entryway, Allen doing the same and shutting the door behind them. Kanda hears the sound of velcro being peeled back and Allen’s sigh of relief, and Kanda knows from the sound that Allen’s binder had been bothering him today. 

Kanda looks back, holding his hand out for Allen to take. The black spotted grey-blue ears on Allen’s head had been drooping. They perk up at the sight of Kanda looking back at him, Allen smiling as he takes his hand, entwining their fingers together with Kanda’s middle finger slipping into the spot where Allen’s is supposed to be. Kanda smiles back, smug. Allen huffs and elbows him in the side. Kanda smirks, stepping into him to step on his foot. Allen pinches him, and Kanda looks at him, affronted. Allen smiles devilishly, mischievous. He flounces off into the bedroom, leaving Kanda betrayed at the entrance.

Kanda sighs, shaking his head with a fond smile.

The beansprout can be such a shit, sometimes.

* * *

“So what do you think? About the café idea, I mean.” Allen asked, munching happily on Link’s unfinished baconator fries. Link had a low tolerance for any sort of fast food, but the name ‘baconator fries’ had been intriguing enough for him to order without first looking at the description. The result had been much to Link’s distaste and Allen’s delight, and Link had ordered a salad instead. 

Kanda frowned over his cheeseburger. “It’s not a terrible idea,” he acceded, shooting him a glare before Allen could smirk at him. Allen pouted, and Kanda smirked at him, making Allen huff and turn away in false affront. He leaned his head against Kanda’s shoulder a moment later, and Kanda smiled down at him.

Johnny nodded enthusiastically. “I think it’s a great idea!” He said with a bright smile. He looked down, “I mean, it’s not like we can go back to the Order…” he said sadly. 

Allen smiled, even as guilt tugged at his heart. He tapped his bare index finger against the back of Johnny’s hand, making him look up, the fresh scarring from where his middle finger should have been twisting grotesquely at the movement. Allen smiled kindly at Johnny. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll see them again soon. Who knows, maybe the café will draw them to us.”

Johnny brightened. “You think so?”

Allen smiled. “I know so.”

“If we’re really going through with this, we should discuss placement and a name beforehand.” Link stated, looking at them seriously.

“How about the UK?” Allen suggested.

Kanda frowned, running a hand through his ponytail. “That’s cutting it close, ‘sprout, even for you.”

“That is pretty close to Headquarters,” Link said with a frown.

“Which is why they’ll never expect it,” Allen said, throwing up his hands with a grin. Link frowned and licked his thumb, reaching across the table to wipe off a spot of cheese on Allen’s face. Allen huffed at him but Link only frowned sternly, Kanda looking at them both with an oddly fond look in his eyes.

Johnny nodded. “I like it,” he decided.

Link hesitated, then said, “it wouldn’t hurt I suppose.”

Kanda shot him a glare as if expecting him to be on his side, before sighing. “Fine, United Kingdom it is.”

Johnny adjusted his glasses on his face. “What about a name?”

Allen paused in the act of taking a bite of his fifteenth cheeseburger, putting it down on its wrapper, no longer feeling hungry. He reached into his pocket to touch the lid of a glass jar within, warm from his body heat. Swallowing around the lump in his throat, he suggested, “how about the Golden Balls?”

Everyone stopped eating – or rather, picking at the remainders of their food while watching Allen eat – Link inhaling his drink with darkened cheeks and breaking into a coughing fit, Johnny looking at him in understanding, if embarrassment, and Kanda looking at him incredulously.

“This,” Link wheezed, having recovered from his coughing fit, “is going in my notes.”

Allen knows that this was an empty threat, as Link’s notes had long turned into more of a diary than actual observation on Link’s part.

Allen knew the implications of what he’d said, of course, but he didn’t know how else to express himself without giving names like, ‘Curiosity Killed the Golem’ or ‘Loyalty Kills! Get Your Money Back Guarantee!’.

Allen felt Johnny’s gaze on him, and his second set of ears attempted to perk underneath his blue beanie as he looked at him. Johnny’s eyes held a certain softness to them, as if he completely understood what Allen was thinking. Maybe he did. Johnny tended to be like that, empathetic to a fault. “How about The Shining Wings Café?” Johnny suggested.

Allen perked up slightly, but it still wasn’t right, at least not completely. 

Apocryphos’s memory of putting a bullet through Master’s head flashes through his mind, and he closes his eyes for a brief moment before opening them, expression steely. “The Shrouded Wings Café.” He decided.

Kanda looked down at him and took his hand, Link bumping his knee against Allen’s under the table.

And Allen wakes up.

Allen yawns, stretching his arms above his head. He snuggles back into Kanda for a moment, his arm slung carelessly over Allen’s stomach. He groans at the sight of the mid afternoon sunlight playing through the curtains. He’ll have to get up now. He promised Tyki a game of cards, and he wouldn’t put it past the man to storm their apartment in order to make Allen keep his promise. With a put upon sigh, he slips out of Kanda’s embrace, leaving the warm comfort of their bed and swinging his legs over the side of the mattress, the floorboards cool against his bare feet. He hears Kanda yawn and stretch behind him and turns back to look at him, Kanda’s hair spread artfully over his pillow while his sculpted face bears several creases from where he’d laid against the pillow. He looks at Allen with a blearily irritated expression. “What are you getting up for?”

Allen smiles and reaches over to run a hand through his hair. “I promised a customer I’d play a game of cards with them,” he says, hoping to keep Tyki out of it.

Kanda’s eyes sharpen however, any hint of drowsiness quickly leaving him. A flash of anger crosses his face before he takes a deep breath in and out. “Come on, let’s get dressed then.” He smirks. “Unless you think you can't do it faster than me.”

Oh, he was going down.

* * *

Allen and Kanda make it down to the floor of the Café in semi-dressed states, though each is at least in uniform: a white long sleeved undershirt with a black suit vest with black pants, neat shoes and a red apron, the suit vest sporting a pair of golden wings spread out across its back. Kanda wears the uniform with the sleeves pushed up, a few buttons of the shirt left undone. Allen wears it with a glove over his left hand, though not his right. There was no point, really. Not when anyone with eyes would have been able to see the empty middle finger flapping about.

His gloves, which had hidden him for so long, now fell useless by a mere amputation. At least in this case. 

Allen puts on a smile as he spots Tyki and Wisely sitting at a table right in sight of the front doors, nursing what was probably their third or fourth cups of coffee. He takes care of some orders before striding over, Kanda hot on his heels. Tyki and Wisely are aware of their approach, no doubt tipped off by Wisely's mind reading. "Yes, we were," Wisely says smugly in response to Allen's thought as they reach the table, and Allen shoots him an annoyed look.

"So, the game, boy?" Tyki asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Strip poker or regular poker?" Allen asks, sitting down across from them and taking out his deck of cards.

“Would it be worth it if it were any other kind of poker?" Tyki asks, and Allen snorts, amused.

He smiles devilishly as he shuffles the cards. "Alright, then let's get started."

* * *

“Call.” Allen says, sporting an innocent smile on his face.

“Damnit!” Tyki says, standing up and shucking off his pants. “What are you doing, Wisely? You’re supposed to be helping me!” Tyki accuses, and Wisely smiles and shrugs, amused.

“This is more interesting,” Wisely says with a cat-like smile.

By this time they’d drawn quite a crowd of onlookers. Among their daytime customers there were mostly werewolves, a selkie, a nunda or two and a few banshees, and one very brave cat eared vampire. Or maybe the banshees were fae. It was hard to tell sometimes. There were also a few humans, welcomed because of their belief in the supernatural. Those ones had to be watched carefully, mostly because of the assumptions they made about supernatural creatures and the assumptions that the supernatural creatures made about  _ them _ . As it was, they were all quite interested to see a known Noah get trounced at poker by one of the most liked owners of the café.

The door to the café opens, announced by the chiming of the bell above it. Allen’s heart freezes in his chest at the sight of them. Lenalee’s hair has grown down to her shoulders, and Timothy seems to have gone through a growth spurt, though he still holds onto Lenalee’s hand, if sulkily. Lenalee’s eyes widen as they land on him and Kanda. She hesitates for a moment as Allen gets up from his seat. He smiles. “Hey, Lenalee.” 

Lenalee’s eyes shine with tears as she bounds towards them, Timothy not far behind and making no effort to restrain his sobs. They both crash into Allen, smashing him against a leather chair as Lenalee wraps her arms around him and Timothy grabs his apron and leans his head against him, sobbing noisily. When Kanda starts to slowly inch away Lenalee looks up with fire in her eyes, pulling him into the embrace with all of the force of a freight train and making Timothy squeak as he’s squashed between them.

When Lenalee pulls back it’s with an angry expression on her face. “You idiots! We thought you were dead! Killed by the Noah, or, or…”

She trails off, seeming to notice their audience for the first time. Or their Noah audience, at least. Timothy stiffens as he notices as well. Allen places a hand on his back, steadying him. Timothy relaxes. “What are you doing here?” Lenalee asks sharply, taking a step forward with her eyes narrowed.

“The food’s good here,” Tyki quips, and while he’s tense he makes no move to get up, his eyes flicking over to Allen.

Lenalee scoffs. “Yeah, right.” She activates her Innocence and every supernatural creature in the room bristles, an edge of violence in the air.

Allen steps forward and grabs Lenalee by the arm. “Lenalee, that’s enough.” He says softly. She looks at him incredulously, and a dangerous edge enters his tone. “This is a neutral space, Lenalee. If you have any grievances with my customers then I suggest you leave.” 

Lenalee’s eyes narrow in anger. “They took Lavi and Bookman!”

Anger instantly bubbles to the fore, protective and vindictive.

_ We’re neutral _ , he reminds himself, taking several deep, calming breaths.  _ We’re neutral here.  _

Allen feels a hand run soothingly through his hair, brushing up against his rounded ears. The action is soothing to any one of his kind, and Allen closes his eyes and leans into it for a second before moving away. Allen opens his eyes and smiles at Kanda, who smiles crookedly back. He scowls at Tyki then and demands, “So are you going to give them back? Is that what this little get together was really about?”

Tyki looks sheepish. Wisely simply looks amused.

“Yeah, actually,” he admits, “ever since you opened the café and started accepting the supernatural populace, the Earl wanted to find a way to repay you.”

Allen frowns. “Why?”

A lot of the patrons laugh at the question, as if it should have been obvious. It’s Blake who steps forward, her skin a ghastly shade of grey that made her look more corpse than vampire during the time of day. Allen has seen much worse though, so he meets her fogged over amber eyes. “You give us a place to be. Where we don’t have to hide who we are, unconstricted by human laws or expectations.” Her mouth quirks up in an amused smile. “There aren’t a lot of café owners who would let their patrons lounge around naked, after all.” A couple of werewolves sprawled out naked on the floor covered in ice cream look up and grin at Allen, one blonde winking salaciously.

Allen rolls his eyes at her and turns back to Blake. “They’re werewolves,” he says, and that explains everything, really.

Blake grins, flashing fangs. “And that’s why we like you,” she says, walking away.

Allen turns back to Tyki, Wisely and the others. “So, how is Lavi?” He asks, though he’s dreading the news if he’s being honest. A year in Sheryl ‘The Spider’s’ hands couldn’t have been good.

Tyki looks uncomfortable, refusing to meet their gaze. Wisely winces. “As good as he’s going to be, to be honest. We tried to fix him up as best we could, but there was still some lasting damage that couldn’t be repaired through conventional means.”

“‘Fix him up?’” Lenalee asks acidly.

“‘Him?’” Kanda asks pointedly, and Allen sees where he’s going with this.

“What do you mean by ‘him?’’” Allen asks, his gaze just a bit too sharp as anger beats at his carefully constructed walls, begging to be unleashed. Kanda is worse off than he, his body strung as tight as a bowstring, and Allen takes a deep breath and reaches for his hand, twining their fingers together and pressing his wrist against Kanda’s own. Kanda takes a deep breath and lets it out, gripping Allen’s hand tightly enough to hurt. Allen’s sure he’s doing the same.

Tyki looks away, and Wisely says apologetically, “Bookman is… no longer among the living.”

Lenalee’s eyes flash dangerously. “You bastards!” Her Innocence still activated, she launches off of the ground and straight towards Wisely, sharp stiletto heel aimed right for his throat. White feathery tendrils reach towards her and wrap around her form, slamming her hard down against the table and dragging her to the floor in a daze, entrapping her tightly in their embrace. 

Allen’s eyes flash angrily as he looks down at her, baring his four foot long metallic claws so they tickle her throat. “Lenalee, I will ask you again,” he says, his voice as sharp as a whip cracking through the air, the atmosphere tense with the weight of violence and possible bloodshed. “Would you like to leave?” He hates doing this, hates the fear and confusion on Lenalee’s face and that the anger inside him is calling for more, more, more. So he takes a deep breath, because he can’t afford to feel this anger right now. It’s not helpful and it won’t save Lavi. So he closes his eyes, and when he opens them all of that anger has been hardened into a steely determination. 

“Deactivate your Innocence,” Allen says, “please, Lenalee.”  _ Please don’t make me throw you out. I can’t let you go now that I’ve found you. _

Some of this must have shown on his face, because Lenalee sighs with a rueful smile. She glances at the Noah and her eyes narrow, but she says, “alright. I’m trusting you with this.”

Her Innocence deactivates, and Allen lets her go, doing the same. Everyone in the café relaxes. “So when are we getting him?” Kanda demands, hand hovering over Mugen’s hilt.

Tyki and Wisely glance at each other. “Now, actually,” Wisely says.

A black and white checkered door appears behind them, and Allen does his best not to tense. The doors open, and Lulubell strides out pushing a wheelchair in front of her with clear disdain for her task. At first, Allen doesn’t recognize the person in the wheelchair. It’s the color of his hair that hits him first. Still the same bright red color, but now brittle and unhealthy looking, though still brushed if without the headband. Next he notices his emaciated frame. His hollowed out cheekbones and sunken eyes, the way his clean clothes swallow him up despite being a perfectly reasonable size. The slight sickly look about him. There’s a wide scar over the right side of his face, cutting through his lip and then slicing across through the shell of his inner ear. But the worst part is his expression. His smile is brittle, his eyes wary and tired, almost resigned. 

And then Allen notices his right arm. It’s actually a prosthetic, attached seamlessly to his shoulder. It’s smooth and black, with a design that’s haunted his nightmares, spare for the forearm and the hand attached at the end. Allen feels bile rise in the back of his throat, so he almost misses when Lavi’s expression changes. Lavi blinks, as if caught in a dream, and cracks a flimsy smile. “Hi, guys.”

**Author's Note:**

> The reason Lenalee had so much trouble understanding that the Café is neutral is because she tends to have an "us against them" mindset. This basically means her friends/Exorcists are the "us", and the Noah, as well as the Vatican/Leverrier are the "them". This mindset, plus the fact that Allen is a very close friend, makes it very hard for her to understand why Allen wouldn't take her side, especially with enemies right in front of her.
> 
> And Allen _wanted_ to take her side. He just couldn't. Because, 1. they're neutral, and 2. peace between his faction and the Noahs.__
> 
> _  
_As for Lavi... well, its heavily implied that he's tortured by Sheryl in canon, among other things. I'm just capitalizing on that. ^^_  
_
> 
> _  
_Also, normally I hate flashback scenes. I just hate them. They cut into the flow of the story and generally cut down on its quality. But I need to tell certain key events that happened before the start of this story, so I decided to go with switching between past tense and present tense instead. Tell me what you think!_  
_
> 
> _  
_See y'all next chap!_  
_


End file.
